Shawn Thomas O'Donnell '26 Recruiting Profile

Personal statements are challenging for me. Looking at this from a "baseball analogy" point of view... Writing about yourself and your qualities can be extremely easy, or extremely hard. If you are a player that would prefer to go 2 for 3 individually and lose the game, it's easy. If you are a player that would rather go 0 for 4, be a good teammate, AND WIN... It is VERY HARD.

As a student, and young adult, I am very driven and forward looking. I like to feel that I am well educated, worldly, open minded, of exceptional character, hard working, kind, humble, use good judgement, and have an insatiable desire to learn all I can, while having a good attitude and giving maximum effort in anything I do. I believe my family, teachers, coaches, teammates, friends, transcripts, test scores, and personal history would support that upon inspection. Currently the majority of my time is focused on my grades and prepping for the SAT. In addition, simultaneously, I am on the diamond, and in the weight room training with and playing for what is widely considered the best High School baseball team in North Carolina year over year (with the best coaches)... Charlotte Christian. They have 4 players active on MLB rosters, won 17 State Championships, and have 6 D1 commits on last year's team (2024). In the limited time I have to myself, I enjoy spending time with my family, my friends, and expanding my mind. HERE IS WHAT MAKES ME DIFFERENT. My free time is not spent on Tik Tok, playing video games (though I do play sometimes), or worrying about my social life/trivial things most 16 yr old's do. Mental stimulation and learning is my passion. For years I have spent my "screen time" researching financial markets, geo politics, world history/geography, sports facts/stats, space, weather patterns, voting results by every US county, current events (not pop culture), among so many others. I would welcome a Jeopardy style quiz on these topics and others to confirm this uncommon/unbelievable statement (I can tell you every county in Florida from top to bottom, a rough estimate of their population, how they voted in the last election, and by what %). Socially I am friends with/interact with virtually all groups both in and out of school. I am often referred to by my parents as "the town mayor" because of my ability to positively interact with any person/group I encounter regardless of their demographic, level of education, beliefs, views etc. There is a lot more to me that I could lay out in this respect but I think those are some of the most important qualities that can be highlighted for the purpose of this personal statement... THAT WAS HARD.

From the baseball side I will start with this. I am a WINNER. I want my team to win no matter what. In the last 4 years (213 games) of middle school, jv, varsity, and travel I have been fortunate enough to play on teams that have won over 75% of their games (yes that is real). I like to feel that regardless of what my role was on those teams, I contributed significantly to those wins. At times I was a role player, and at times I have been "the guy". I have played all 3 outfield positions, 2B, pitched, and hit in 7 different spots in the lineup on those teams. I've had walk off hits, bunt singles, sacrifices, and high IQ stolen/extra bases. It's all the same to me. Whatever it takes to help the team win. I would humbly argue that my baseball IQ is upper 1%. I cannot think of a coach I’ve played for, or player I've played with, who would say I wasn't a positive person in the dugout, supportive in all situations, coachable, and/or respectful of my teammates, coaches, or the game. My father taught me this game and raised me on it since 4 years old. We are a baseball family. We live it, we love it. I appreciate the privilege it is to keep playing this game at this age, and this level. I understand how challenging it is and the extreme competition that remains to keep playing it moving forward. I feel that I have learned so much about the game over the years and it has given, and continues to give me an edge in that respect over other players. I also realize how much more there is to learn. I welcome that challenge and am eager to take it on… THAT WAS HARD.

I opened this statement with the following.

"Personal statements for me are challenging. Looking at this from a "baseball analogy" point of view... Writing about yourself and your qualities can be extremely easy, or extremely hard. If you are a player that would prefer to go 2 for 3 individually and lose the game it's easy. If you are a player that would rather go 0 for 4, be a good teammate, AND WIN... It is pretty hard."

I think you can judge what type of player I closely align with in that statement. I'm confident if you met me and/or gave me an opportunity to prove it in some capacity, you would be satisfied I am that player, person, and so much more.

Thank you for your time and consideration.

Shawn Thomas O'Donnell

Charlotte Christian Class of 2026